Criticism over cost of jobs-cuts consultant

The Organisational Support Review (OSR) caused an uproar when it was announced at Hull Council last summer as a large proportion of the savings come from making 170 full-time staff in the business support section redundant.

Jan Willis, of Wow Consulting, who is acting as programme director for the OSR, is being paid £50,000 for another four month’s work to the end of next January, having already earned £220,000 since last April.

Newly-appointed chief operating officer, former ABP port director Matt Jukes, who takes up his post on December 1, will be paid £115,000 a year.

The latest payments were revealed in a decision record signed off by city treasurer Brendan Arnold.

Ms Willis’s job includes overseeing the end of the programme and the technological changes it involves. The decision record also states that the post was advertised externally and only received a single bid.

Lib Dem group leader Coun Mike Ross said: “This has been an outrageously costly programme and when they are bringing in someone who is paid more than the chief operating officer it leaves a bad taste.”

The Yorkshire Post revealed earlier this year that Ms Willis had been paid £81,375 between April and November 2012 for project management services for the organisational support review, and £140,000 as director between last November and September 30.

Labour cabinet member Phil Webster said they had already saved £4.8m “because of OSR and the work Jan Willis has already done.”

He added: “I don’t hear the Lib Dems shouting ‘outrageous’ when their Government took £100m off the people of Hull. Maybe their vitriol is pointed in the wrong direction.”